On February 16, 2016, SIIA submitted comments to the Copyright Office in response to its study of the law surrounding “Software-Enabled Consumer Products” (a.k.a. “embedded software” or “the Internet of Things”).  Increased device connectivity has prompted questions regarding application of the copyright law to consumer goods.  .  SIIA believes that no changes to existing law are necessary to address embedded software.   First, it is important to note that there is no distinction between “embedded” (or whatever other name used for it) software and other kinds of software. To put it simply, there is merely software – some of which is licensed, and some of which is sold.  Importantly for SIIA members, current law enables the proliferation of licensed software models for the betterment of both consumers using the software and the companies that make it. Most SIIA members license their products, and tail ...

Apple Tells Supreme Court it Shouldn’t Bother Hearing Samsung’s Appeal (Re/Code) Apple filed arguments to the Supreme Court yesterday telling them that there is no reason for it to take up Samsung’s appeal in its seemingly endless patent dispute with Samsung.  Google and Facebook also filed arguments on the side of Samsung encouraging the Supreme Court to hear the appeal. Wall Street is Trying to Beat Silicon Valley at Its Own Game (Bloomberg BNA) Banks and Payments companies were awarded 1,192 patents over the past three years, a 36 percent increase over the previous three year period.  Financial institutions have been seeking to patent technologies related to financial services. Nvidia Wins Trial Brought by Samsung over Memory-Chip Patent (eWeek) Nvidia won a patent trial from Samsung over memory chip technology.  The complaint was filed in November 2014 as retaliation against Nvidia for an earlier suit Nvidia filed against Samsung regarding ...

Jury: Apple must pay $626 million to patent troll VirnetX (Ars Technica) Apple lost a $626 million suit against the patent troll VirnetX where it was found that Apple infringed upon every single patent claim at hand. U.S. Investigates Toyota, BMW, Volkswagen for Patent Infringement (Computerworld) The U.S. International Trade Commission is investigating charges of patent infringement by Advanced Silicon Technologies that several car companies infringe on its patents related to car infotainment systems. Arista Just Lost a Patent Round Against Cisco and Could Face an Import Ban (PC World) The U.S. International Trade Commission found that Arista Networks violated three Cisco patents on networking technologies.  This win could block the importation of Arista products into the United States. Nokia Patent Sales Forecast from Samsung Deal Hits Shares (Reuters) Nokia’s shares fell by more than 10% after it settled a patent dispute with Samsung.  This comes after N ...

Last month, we posted a blog about the geo-unblocking services offered by New Zealand broadband companies. The combined service allowed customers automatic access to offshore content sites such as Netflix and BBC iPlayer that were not authorized for distribution in New Zealand.  New Zealand customers paid for this offshore content but evaded the geographical restrictions by making it appear to the content services that they were located in an authorized jurisdiction.  Local media companies understandably considered this arrangement to be an illegal attempt to bypass their exclusive distribution arrangements with content providers, and brought a legal case against the broadband companies offering bundled geo-unblocking services.